Manufacture of rubber footwear.



.M. G. CLARK.

MANUPAGTURE 0F RUBBER FOOTWEAR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 6, 1909.

1,647,750, Patented Deo. 17, 1912.

M. C..GLARK. MANUFAGTURE 0F RUBBER FOOTWEAR. APPLICATION FILED Nov; 6,'1909.

1,047,750. Patented Dec. 17,1912.

3 SHBETS`SHBBT 2,

M. C. CL ARK.

MANUFAOTURE 0F RUBBER FOOTWEAR.

APPLICATION FILED Nov.s,-1909.

$47,750. Patented Dee. 17,1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3A faQ/vir Unite-np sTATEs MAURICE C. CLARK, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODEISLANI).

MANUFACTURE OF RUBBER FOOTWER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 6, 1909. Serial No. 526,553.

To all whom 'it ymay conce-rn Be it known thatl I, MAURICE C. CLARK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Providence, in the county of Frovidence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful-Improvements in Manufacture of Rubber Footwear, of which the following is a specification.

My` invention relates to improvements i-n the art of manufacturing rubber footwear and consists of a novel form of overshoe or arctic constructed of cloth and rubber.

The object of my improvement is to provide a practical and efficient overshoe `adapted tol adjust itself closely to the shoe-clad foot of thewearcr and to be fastened thereon without any buckle, clasp or other fastening device over the instep.

A further object of my improvement is to provide for better protection 'from' the weather than that afforded by the. usual form of overshoe by forming the front or vamp of the shoe of a single, unbroken piece without openings.or gaps, thereby better adapting it to shed snow or water encountered in walking.

l\'[ vin,\r'1entionis fully described in the fol lowing specification, illustrated by the ac.- companying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved overshoe; Fig. Q, a side sameuFig. 3, a side elevation of the shoe showing a modification of the fastening arrangement; Fig. hga plan view of the vamp of the overshoe viewed from the inner side and showing the. method of constructing ,it from the 'several parts of fabric, rubber and lining: Fig. 5, a view showing the pattern of the lining piece for the vamp; Fig. (l. a 'view showing the pattern of the fabric and stays for the xside pieces o1' wings of the ramp; Fig. 7, a view show ing the pattern of the rubber piece which forms the yielding part of the vamp,

Referringto Figs. l and 2, my improved overshoe is shownA vas .constructed 'with a rubber sole 3 of conventional form with a fabric upper usual manner. rlhe upper of the shoe con` sists of two parte;A the counter C and the` vamp D. The counter "C is preferablv formed in one piece of non-elastic material with the quarters c. c extending from the elevation of thev sides ofthe shoe around' the back and joined to the sole and heel. The front edges of the quarters extend up from the sides of the sole just forward of the heel, as represented by the dotted line c in Fig. 2, and round otfinto the top edge of the counter. My improvement consists essentially .in forming the vamp D or front portion of the uppenin one continuous piece extend ing over the top of the toe and instep,- around the sides of the shoe, and overlapping the quarters at d, d. The shape of the vamp D is shown in Fig. 4, its forward end being rounded at ai to conform to the toe of the shoe; the edges cl2, (Padapted to follow the contour .of the sides of the sole of the shoe; andthe extensions or wings d3, Z3 designed to overlap 'the quarters of the counter and be secured thereto by suitable fastening devices.

The vamp is preferably formed of two thicknesses of material, shaped as shown in Fig. 4:, with the inner or lining portions cut to the patterns illustrated in Figs. 5, 6 and 't'. The outer vamp is made in one piece of elastic textile material of the form shown in Fig. 4 shaped V'to fit the toe and sides of the sole B and lined with four pieces of Various materials as now described: The main portion of the lining, as designated by f, is, preferably of felt or other cold-resisting material, made inthe same piece with the lining for the counter of the shoe. The portions which extend around the sides (l-ll attached thereto in themform shown in Fig. 6.

non-elastic and relatively iniiexible so that" and back of the upper to line the counter are not here shown, however, these eXtensions from the vamp lining, proper, being broken off at f', f', see Figs. 4.- and 5. felt portion of the lining is cemented to the inside of the fabric vamp ybut does not completely cover the latter, beingcut away at f2, f2 where the vamp extends in the wings or tlaps (I3, (Z3, and also at f3 so that it does not reach clear to the edge d5. The iaps cl3, (Z3 are preferablyv with pieces (Z4, d* of the' same material as the outer portion of the vamp, cut to the To make these flaps they will set close to the sides of the shoe when secured by the fasteners, I reinforce them with stays of canvas or other stiften'- ing material cemented between4 the cloth of Patented nee. 17,1912.

This

faced on t-he inside` 'the edges of the pieces al, 4, see Fig. 3. The

edge f3 of-the felt lining f is shown as overlapping the edge g of the rubber strip g, see dotted lines. The rubber strip g is attached to that portion of the vamp whichl fits over the instep of the wearers footl and gives lthe required elasticity to make the vamp conform to the shape of the foot.

The openings between the vamp and the counter provide for inserting the sho eclad foot into the overshoe and the upper part of the overshoe is fastened snugly aroundthe ankle by securing the flaps d, d? to the sides of the shoe. Any suitable form of fastening device might be used lfor this urpose, but I have preferred to'show the a s secured by snap fsteners h, It, whic make a convenient arrangement and present a neat appearance. These fasteners are of the usualmale-and-female type used for gloves and other articles of apparel. In Figs. 1 and 2 I have shown a strap s fastened to the back of the shoe andthis may be slightly ,elastic and is seeured'byleading it through suitable openings c2 in the outer fabric and make a neat finish. The strap s is cemented in place between the tw'o thicknesses of material and the free` ends are covered with cloth to match the up er of the shoe. Riv eted to the straps at t eir ends are the male members h of the fasteners, formed' with mushroom heads adapted to snap into the circular cavities of the female` buttonshaped portions h. I have shown two male fasteners attached t each strap and a reater iiumber might be used to provide for taking up the top of the shoe so that it can be adplsted to variations in size of ankle. In Fig. 3. the shoe is shown witha single fastener and inv this modification of my improved arrangement thevamp is fastened directly vto the counter without the use of a stra around the back of the ankle.

T e shoe shown in Fig. 3 is adapted for ordinary uses and makes a very light and neat article for ladies wear. To make it completely water-proof and absolutely impervious to the insinuation of moisture when used 'for walking in heavy snow or slush I have provided a further protection to seal theopening between the vamp and the counter. This' consists of a iiexible ore 7c of substantially V-shape, represented by dotand-dash'lines in Figs. 1 and 2, and having its edges` attached to the vamp and counter at 7o and is. -This gore may be elastic to adapt it to stretch to allow the overshoe to be drawn-over the shoe, or it might be made of waterproof fabric of ample width to permit the opening of the mouth of the overslioe and arranged to fold upon itself when the upper is fastened about the ankle.

It will be seen from reference to the drawings that my improved overshoe presents a very neat and stylishgappearance and is far less cumbersome and awkward than articles of this character now manufactured. it can be made considerably lighter than the ordinary form of overshoe now in use; is adapted to fit the foot much more closely; and can be fastened around the ankle without the bungling appearance of overshoes in whichthe upper is fastened in front by buckles or other exposed fasteners. The use of a buckle or other fastener over the instep is open to serious objections for several reasons: In the first place, it .catches in the clothing of the wearer and is apt to tear the lace or trimming on womenls underskirts. It also catches in the hem of the trousers when worn by men and. besides tearing the apparel, acts as a hint rance to walking. if the overshoe is fastened tightly on the foot, the buckle will press on the sensitive part of the instep, or pause the buttons or lacing fasteners of' the under shoe to bind against the instep and'ankle, making it very uncomfortable. to walk. My imipovement obviates all of these objections thence between the fabric and the lining to;

by providing a neat and simple arrangement for securing the parts of the uppr/at the sides of the overshoe where the asteners Vwill. not be liable to catehin the garments 'offthe wearer or lcause au uncomfortable pressure on' tide instep, besides giving a smooilg-'l-clo'se-itting appearance to the front ofthe shoe. Another most important feature is the` better weather-resisting qualities of my improved overshoe. In the usual style of oven shoe the quarter extends over the vamp and forms a pocket or troufrh at the front where the two sides meet. Thismakes a veritable catch-basin for snow` andwater sothat the moisture eventually finds its way into the interior of the overshoe. ln the resent arrangement the vampv overlaps tie quarter and forms a shed at the front of the overshoe which directs the moisture back over the sides without allowing it to enter the interior.

Various modifications might be made in the formv and material ofcertain parts of my improved overshoe without 'departing from the scope of my invention, therefore, I

tile .fabric shaped to cover the entire fore 1,047,750 v y a part of the .slxoe and having i-aps extending to adapt the vamp to conform to the shape aroundthe sides of the shoe and overlapof the foot.. 10 V ping the counter, said vamp lined through- In testimon whereof I aix my signature out its forward part with a cold-resist1ng in presence o two Wltnesses.

material, the flaps of the vamp lined with MAURICE staypieces of stiffening material, and a thin Witnesses: sheet-rubber lining secured to that portion GEO. W. BUNGfln,

of the vamp which extends overLthe instep LUCY BAUMAN. 

